


The Wedding Reception

by Spybaby47



Category: Blue Bloods (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:14:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28686933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spybaby47/pseuds/Spybaby47
Summary: Frank Reagan is ready to introduce his significant other to his family. His significant other isn't. When Frank unexpectedly runs into his daughter at a wedding reception for a work colleague, he decides to use the opportunity to address some lingering issues in his relationship.
Relationships: Frank Reagan/Original Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	The Wedding Reception

**Author's Note:**

> I have had this story in the form of a short stub on my computer for a long time. It's part of a larger story I've been working on for a long time, but I've never managed to put together a cohesive story. Since I've gotten back into reading and writing fanfic generally, I decided to pick this story up and post it as a vignette as part of my commitment to posting finished work only.
> 
> I started writing that story because I thought Frank Reagan deserved to be in a relationship that isn't just a passing reference or a brief look at like we see in the series. It's a more intimate look at how Frank handles a relationship with someone who is still very much a mystery to him. Part of the inspiration for this came from an interaction Erin and Frank had in season 2 or 3 when he has a flirty moment with a friend of hers. It's not set in any particular season Enjoy!

“Thank you for inviting me to come with you,” Jack Boyle said as they crossed the lobby of the yacht club in Jersey City where the reception of their mutual colleague’s wedding was being held.

“I think it’s good we came together,” Erin replied. “Chris knows both of us.”

“Still, I know we've been through a lot.”

“We?” Erin asked pointedly.

“Ok...you,” Jack corrected as they walked into a large cocktail lounge area where tables were set up around the room and waiters weaved in between them carrying trays of appetizers and ordered drinks from the bar on one side of the room.

“This is nice,” she commented as they arrived at a table.

“The opposite of our wedding.”

“Maybe, but you have to admit, Fire Island was memorable.”

“I wouldn’t change it for anything,” he agreed.

Erin looked over towards the bar to see how they could flag down a waiter and order drinks. As she did so, she saw a familiar figure at a table on the other side of the room.

“My dad’s here,” she said as she looked back at Jack.

Jack looked in the same direction Erin did and saw Frank clearly, “I wonder what he’s doing here?”

“I’m going to find out.” Erin walked over to that side of the room and soon found herself coming up behind Frank. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Frank turned and smiled when he saw Erin, “I was wondering if I might see you.”

“I didn’t know you know Chris and Anna.”

“We haven’t met officially,” He said just as a tall young woman with striking hazel eyes and copper-colored hair materialized behind him. She looked to be in her 30s from Erin’s estimation.

“I had to help Anna with something,” she said to Frank, only to realize a moment too late that someone was with him. Her eyes widened ever so slightly with surprise, but it vanished just as quickly, “My apologies, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

If Erin didn’t know any better, she could have sworn that her father looked a bit amused. She watched him smile and then say, “Your timing is perfect. Serena, this is my daughter Erin. Erin, this is Serena James-Hall.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Serena. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Erin,” Serena replied with a warm and genuine smile.

“You must know Anna,” Erin said sussing out rapidly that her father was Serena’s date to this wedding.

“Yes, I do. We were law school classmates.”

“So you’re a fellow lawyer,” She said eying her father with interest.

“Yes. I work in the UN’s Office of Legal Counsel,” Serena replied. Before she could say another word, a phone rang. It was coming from inside the clutch Serena carried. “Duty calls,” She said. “Excuse me.”

With that, Serena walked away swiftly. She pulled out her phone and retreated to a quiet corner to take her call. Frank watched her go and then turned back to Erin.

“I thought I saw Jack,” He said looking over Erin’s shoulder into the crowd.

“You probably did. We decided to come together since we both worked with Chris.”

“Ah,” Frank said with a little smile. It was all he could say. He still hated his ex-son-in-law for hurting his only daughter. Nicky was the only reason things remained civil but strained between the Reagans and Jack Boyle.

“So you offered to be Serena’s date,” Erin said, unwilling to be deterred. 

As surprised as she had been initially to see her father with a beautiful and much younger woman, Erin was taking a certain amount of satisfaction in her discovery. The rest of the family had long suspected that Frank was seeing someone and had been for a while. He was frequently gone on certain days but not on others. And of course, when asked about it, he remained quiet. Erin was the first one to meet the truth face to face.

“Yes. Seeing as it is a wedding, I thought she might appreciate going with someone. I wasn’t aware that you and Jack would be here.”

“I bet,” She replied with a little smile. “At least now, we know where you’ve been when you disappear.”

“I do not disappear,” Frank protested. 

“How come Pop doesn’t know, yet?”

“You know the answer to that question, Erin,” He replied looking at her seriously. “It’s complicated.”

The look Erin gave him suggested that she didn’t believe it was complicated so much as he was reluctant to admit who he was dating. But Frank didn’t elaborate on his point. Doing so would require him to reveal that Serena, had in fact, been resisting his attempts to introduce her to the family. Meeting Erin here had taken care of that, at least. A colleague pulled Erin’s attention away before she could formulate an answer. Frank took that opportunity to go find his date.

Serena was standing just outside the room on a little terrace looking out over the water. Tall lighted heat lamps kept away the chill of winter that proceeded early spring in New York. She put her phone away inside her clutch. The phone call she had taken could have gone to voicemail. But it gave her the excuse she needed to extract herself from her meeting with Erin. It wasn’t that she was afraid of meeting the Reagan family. She never did well with meeting a significant other’s family. Families were full of complexities and secrets that outsiders were never truly privy to. Having lost her family when she was young, Serena was a permanent outsider.

A pair of strong arms encircled her waist, “Is the world still in one piece?” Frank whispered in her ear. 

“Yes,” She said with a little smile. “Just an update on something for Monday.”

“Good,” He replied, tightening his arms around her and holding her close.

Serena exhaled and relaxed in his arms, “I should be annoyed at you for looking so amused when I met Erin.”

“But you’re not,” he replied dropping a kiss on her neck. “Because I was right. Erin already knew I was seeing someone.”

“That wouldn’t be a difficult conclusion to come to, considering you spend three nights at my place.”

“True,” he admitted. Last night was the third one, and he didn’t exactly relish the thought of going to bed alone tonight. “But to be fair, I am open to extending that time.”

“Don’t you have to go to church in the morning?” Serena asked turning in his arms. She had the most beautiful hazel eyes, and they were currently giving him a pointed look.

“Yes. But so do you. We could go together,” Frank offered.

Frank knew he was pushing Serena on another sensitive point. Ever since they met, their relationship had fallen into a schedule, even before they started seeing each other romantically. Scheduling was essential for two very busy people in high-stress positions like they were. But after a year and a half, he was starting to grow tired of keeping his relationship separate from the rest of his life. It made him feel as if Serena was his mistress, rather than his significant other.

“Going to church with you means staying for family dinner. I just met Erin and already you want to throw me in the deep end of the pool.”

Frank chuckled, “Sink or swim.”

“Frank, it wouldn’t be appropriate,” Serena replied. “I swear, bringing you as my date to this wedding was a terrible judgment call.”

Frank took the hit on that one and didn’t point out that it had been the best idea. He knew she was simply falling back on her good etiquette as a defense mechanism. They had been dancing around this issue for weeks. 

He took a beat before speaking again, “You forget to breathe, did you know that?”

The observation threw Serena off-guard, her unease about settling into some kind of domesticity momentarily vanishing.

“What are you doing, Frank?” She asked quietly.

“I’ve noticed it ever since we met,” He observed. “You get so caught up in everything that is going on around you whether it’s work or the organizations you volunteer for, that you forget to breathe. When we’re together, you remember.”

As if to prove his point, Serena exhaled. Frank leaned down and kissed her tenderly. Serena gave him a gentle kiss in return before pulling away from him.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re playing on my love for you.”

Frank leaned in to whisper in her ear, “I don’t play on anything.”

A shiver traveled down Serena’s spine, her body reading his implication loud and clear. He had been quick to cut through that lighthearted tease and that’s part of what Serena loved about him. He saw her in a way that no one else she had been with could. She could argue, avoid, tease, or flirt her way out of almost any situation. Frank let her try up to a certain point, until he cut through all of it. 

“Why are you pressing me on this, then?”

“Because I’m tired of schedules, Serena,” he said. “I love you and I don’t want to keep pretending that you’re separate and apart from the rest of my life because you’re not.”

“I love you, too. But there’s the small matter of your family,” She reminded him. “They may not like the fact that we’re seeing each other.”

Frank smiled softly, “I don’t think that will be a problem. Erin barely knows anything about you and I think you made an excellent impression.”

“Sweetheart, Erin has probably spent the last 20 minutes finding out everything she can about me.”

“If that’s the case, you can expect everyone else to get a primer on you by tomorrow. News travels rather fast in this family.”

Serena sighed, “You’re really enjoying wearing me down on this, aren’t you?”

“Perhaps,” Frank admitted with a little smile. “But it’s working, isn’t it?”

“Maybe….”

“Let’s go back into the reception, and we’ll duck out early to meet pop for coffee followed by a sleepover at my house.”

“Oh I see,” Serena said amusement glittering in her eyes. “This is all one elaborate ruse to make sure you’re not sleeping alone tonight.”

“If you go along with my plan, you won’t be either,” He pointed out.

“And here I thought you were so strait-laced when we met.”

“Someone has to have a little fun in this relationship, my love, and I’m more than happy to take up that mantel. “

“Okay,” Serena finally agreed. “I’ll go along with your little plan so long as we can stop at my apartment on the way, so I have appropriate church attire. And I reserve the right to go home if things get too uncomfortable.”

“They won’t,” Frank assured her. “Pop will love having an advantage over everyone except Erin by meeting you first.”

They disappeared back into the reception then. For the rest of the night, Frank had an irrepressible smile on his face, secure in the knowledge that they had finally taken the next step in their relationship.

Fin

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. If you like this story, feedback is welcome. I may write something else in the future.


End file.
